After watching this video below which was posted previously to the site along with the social justice oriented ELA materials for 1st graders, a Utah dad did a little homework and sent in this email.

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The booklet is called “Children and the United Nations.” Published by Zaner-Bloser, and listed as “Recommended Student Resource” in Utah’s online Recommended Instructional Materials database, this Common Core-aligned “instructional text” evangelizes the United Nations, UNICEF, and the controversial UN “Convention on the Rights of the Child,” (which recently failed to pass the US Senate, and is likely to be voted on again this year). Here is a small excerpt from the 64-page booklet (emphasis added):

“Kofi Annan, the UN’s former Secretary-General, said, ‘There is no tool more effective than the education of girls.’

“Let’s take a look at why Annan’s statement is true. Suppose a country commits to educating its young girls. What might be the result? First, families will probably get smaller. Educated women tend to have fewer children. Why do women who are educated have fewer children? Because they have more opportunities in life. They have options beyond raising children. Having fewer children makes a big difference…Smaller families mean there are fewer people to feed, clothe, and shelter. That helps a society preserve its natural resources.

“Sadly, many young girls in the developing world are still denied a good education. To address this, UNICEF has been working with other international groups to address this.” (p. 34-35)

This political booklet is a clear example of why an increasing number of Utahns are fighting nationalized education standards and are demanding a return to local control of education.

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The USOE review states there could be some things thought to be controversial or political in nature in the series and teachers should use this as an opportunity to discuss potential bias (http://delleat.schools.utah.gov/rims/BookDetail.jsp?isbn=9780736799645&coreCode=06020000010). This didn’t lessen their recommendation of the series to be used by teachers, nor have they any way to track which teachers might be using this series and notify them of any issues. Schools and districts purchase books based on the recommendations of the Utah state office of education individuals who review materials and put their stamp of approval on the books. <sarcasm>No doubt, the state office is working with the John Birch Society to identify a quality resource to give the other side of the U.N. story so that teachers can properly discuss the political bias in the U.N. book. </sarcasm>

This book is a Common Core aligned nonfiction book, designed for Level T/U reading which puts it solidly in material deemed appropriate for 5th graders.

Here’s a look at what the book teaches about the Convention of the Rights of the Child. Please read below it as well.

Much of what is said here seems like common sense. This is intentional . At its heart is an agenda of gutting parental rights. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has not been ratified in the United States, but it comes up periodically by those who wish to have it made law. Here are a couple of resources that help show the bigger picture.

http://cdn6.freethechildren.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/WAS-Secondary-LP-Jan30-FINAL.pdf (pages 14-15 have a simple chart that shows a summary of the CRC articles. Again, many seem benign, but others paint a worrisome picture.)

This excellent video shows real life stories about how parental rights are being taken away under the same philosophy as the CRC. If it is ever ratified in the United States, it will be a wholesale loss of parental rights. The video is about 36 minutes long.